Judge fines Orange $1,000 a day in ongoing legal dispute between council, mayor

A judge has fined the city of Orange $1,000 per day in an ongoing legal dispute surrounding former deputy business administrator Willis Edwards III. A 2011 file photo of the Orange municipal building.Jerry McCrea/The Star-Ledger

ORANGE — In an ongoing legal battle, a judge has slapped the city of Orange with a $1,000 per day fine for failing to provide documents regarding the role of former business administrator Willis Edwards III, who sparked controversy anew when he was tapped as the mayor's chief of staff.

The Orange city council previously sued Edwards, Mayor Dwayne Warren and the city in an effort to remove Edwards from the business administrator’s office.

Judge Siobhan Teare on Wednesday fined the city $1,000 per day, starting Aug. 3, until the city complies and provides documents about Edwards' salary and job description, among other details.

The sanction stems from ongoing legal wranglings between the Warren administration and city council members over Edwards, formerly a state assemblyman and Warren’s campaign manager.

Warren had tapped Edwards as deputy business administrator after the council rejected his appointment to the permanent position — a move that Robert Tarver, an attorney representing the council, said “clearly intended to circumvent the Council and the law."

Teare ordered that Edwards vacate his position as deputy business administrator by May 30.

Since then, Warren claims that Edwards has moved into the role of his chief of staff, while former chief of staff Tyshammie Cooper moved into the acting business administrator position.

The court ordered Orange officials to provide by Aug. 2 a list of 11 documents, including who had been responsible for the daily operations of the city since May 30, the chief of staff’s salary and job description and the salaries of the top five administrative employees from April to June, excluding public safety employees, court papers say.

But the only documents received were two letters — one containing records from Edwards’ personnel file and the second letter a list of the top five administrative employees excluding the chief of staff.

The council has raised concerns about Edwards’ full-time job at Essex County College as acting director of program and curriculum. Edwards says he spends 40 hours a week at ECC and 50 hours a week on city-related business.

“Now, due to his (Warren’s) negligence, the people of Orange are being penalized by a fine that uses our already considerably strained resources,” council president Donna Williams said.